If Austin and Ty Dillon worried about pressure or whether people thought they deserved their rides at Richard Childress Racing, they probably wouldn’t drive cars with a slanted 3 logo made famous by Dale Earnhardt.

But while they probably don’t worry about it, Saturday wasn’t the first time, nor will it be the last, that they will have that accusation thrown at them.

In the heated moments following a wreck Saturday with Ty Dillon during the Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville, Kevin Harvick, who has driven in Cup at RCR for the last 13 years, called them “punk-ass kids” and cited them as the reason he will leave RCR after this season for Stewart-Haas Racing.

“They’ve got no respect for what they do in this sport and they’ve had everything fed to them with a spoon,” Harvick said.

Those comments no doubt will frustrate them and thoroughly tick off their grandfather, team owner Richard Childress. He will vow that they have sponsorship, that they have won races and competed for championships. They have proven their worth to go on to the next step (Austin to Sprint Cup next season and Ty to the Nationwide Series), and at times Childress has even held them back when other owners have talked about putting them in cars.

Childress won’t — and shouldn’t — apologize for giving his grandsons opportunities to race at NASCAR's highest levels. It’s his money. It’s his team. He can put the focus on his grandkids if he wants.

Blood is thicker than water. Childress wouldn’t be human if he didn’t want his grandsons to win more than others. But he also has a bottom line to think about, and he knows that if his grandsons don’t win championships, he’s better off if the winner comes from within his organization. For his grandkids to meet their potential, they’ll need the help of strong teammates.

So he has incentive to have a strong program around his grandsons. But anyone who doesn’t like the fact that they will be the focus probably should get a resume ready. Or leave. If Harvick truly feels that way about the Dillons, then he absolutely did the right thing in making the decision to go to SHR next year.

The fact is that without the grandkids, there is no RCR, and Childress is instead spending time out on his ranch or on some hunting excursion. The grandkids remain the reason that he is still around, still has the enthusiasm and the fire for a sport where he hasn’t won a Cup championship in nearly 20 years.

The Dillons are not the first drivers labeled as punks by a competitor. The Busch brothers have heard it. Brad Keselowski probably has been called a punk. Joey Logano has faced similar accusations. Whenever a young driver comes on the scene, he typically will race hard enough to ruffle some feathers and annoy the veterans.

The Dillon boys do have the luxury of knowing granddad owns the team. They know he will give them time to develop, that they don’t necessarily race for their future with every green flag.

They do have the pressure to prove themselves, but they know they are not auditioning for other team owners. That means they can be a little more bull-headed on the track, if necessary, not really worrying about whether they anger another driver or team. They know their grandfather is old school and if they wreck while racing, while being aggressive, it will be looked at as a learning experience, at least for the time being.

They have the respect of many in the garage in how they handle themselves, but they also probably have a little more of a license to be themselves. If that means walking around with a cowboy hat and a little bit of a strut, so be it. If that means warning another driver after getting wrecked on the final lap, then so be it.

What has to irk Childress the most is the perception that RCR could suffer with Harvick’s departure, that his grandkids won’t bring back the glory days of the organization. The truth of the matter is that Childress hasn’t won a Cup championship since 1994. He was able to continue after the death of a seven-time Cup champion. So while Childress might wish he had Harvick next year, it’s not as if Harvick’s departure should be seen as something that will shake the foundation at RCR.

The bottom line is that only one way exists for RCR to prove that the Dillon boys are not the only focus. That’s for drivers not named Dillon to win races and finish higher in the standings than those named Dillon.

And there’s only one way for the Dillon boys to prove they are deserving of their rides. That’s for them to win races and finish higher in the standings than those not named Dillon.